Bulawayo, (New Ziana) – The country is intensifying efforts to transform its economy through mineral value addition and import substitution, with government pushing for an end to exporting raw minerals and importing finished products that could be manufactured locally.
Speaking during the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy 2 (ZNIDP2), Consumer Protection Policy and Local Content Strategy breakfast meeting on Wednesday, Ministry of Industry and Commerce provincial director, Mary Chingonzo said the newly approved frameworks are designed to transform the country into a competitive manufacturing and value-adding economy.
She said ZNIDP2, which runs from 2026 to 2030, marks a shift from economic stabilisation and reconstruction towards industrial transformation anchored on competitiveness, resilience and sustainability.
“We can no longer remain content with exporting raw materials while importing finished products derived from the land. Our minerals must contribute meaningfully to domestic industrialisation, employment creation and long-term economic prosperity,” she said.
Chingonzo said the policy places, for the first time, “strong and structured emphasis” on mineral value addition as a manufacturing imperative, with government identifying 11 mineral-based value chains for co-production, including lithium, iron ore, chrome, coal, phosphates and platinum group metals.
She added that the policy seeks to restructure the economy from one dependent on raw material exports into one driven by processing, manufacturing and export of higher-value products.
“The ZNIDP2 provides the roadmap for accelerating Zimbabwe’s industrial transformation over the next five years.
“It seeks to deepen value addition, strengthen industrial competitiveness, promote innovation, modernise value chains and expand participation in both regional and global markets,” she said.
Chingonzo also said the country was already recording encouraging industrial recovery signs in the first quarter of 2026, with average manufacturing sector capacity utilisation estimated at about 57 percent across major sub-sectors.
She said macro-economic stability, exchange rate predictability and single-digit inflation were beginning to restore investor confidence and improve industrial planning horizons.
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